Scottish Executive

Concessionary Travel

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many free trips were made under the local concessionary travel scheme in each concessionary scheme area in each year of the scheme to date and how these figures compare with its estimates of the number of trips prior to delivery of the scheme.

Nicol Stephen: The information requested is not held centrally. Details of scheme usage relate to the contractual arrangements for the 16 local concessionary travel schemes throughout Scotland and are between the local transport authorities and the transport operators. We will gather information on the current local schemes as part of the preparation for the introduction of the new national concessionary fares scheme.

Concessionary Travel

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to stop the practice of senior citizens having to leave Scottish Citylink buses at Harthill to wait for another bus without shelter, when travelling between Edinburgh and Glasgow under its current concessionary travel scheme.

Nicol Stephen: I am concerned about this practice and have asked officials to raise the issue with the Confederation of Passenger Transport and the operator concerned.

Concessionary Travel

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the reasons were for the shortfall in funding of Strathclyde Transport Authority’s local concessionary scheme given that the original allocation took account of the share of the population of retirement age.

Nicol Stephen: We are currently considering the claim for additional funding submitted by the Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme Joint Committee. The claim was submitted under arrangements agreed at an earlier stage with COSLA. Those arrangements were agreed because it was recognised that the enhanced funding allocated for concessionary travel under the local government formula grant arrangements might not be sufficient to meet the costs arising following the introduction of free local off-peak travel in some cases.

Hepatitis

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made to establish the ex-gratia payment scheme for people with Hepatitis C through blood and blood products.

Malcolm Chisholm: We have announced today that the ex-gratia payments will be administered through a UK-wide scheme which will operate on the same basis as the Scottish scheme previously announced. A copy of the full press release has been posted to each MSP and also placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

  The independent body that will administer the scheme will be set up as soon as possible. Once the necessary mechanisms for accepting claims and making payments are in place, we will announce the final details of the scheme and will work closely with the health service, clinicians and voluntary groups to ensure claimants know what to do in order to make an application.

Local Government Finance

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide additional funding for Stirling Council to make improvements to its roads infrastructure, in light of the decision to locate the new acute hospital for Forth Valley at Larbert.

Nicol Stephen: No. Funding for local roads and bridges forms part of the general local government finance settlement. As part of this, Stirling Council receives above inflation increases in revenue support of 9.1% this year, and of 6.3% and 4.4% over the next two years. It is entirely a matter for the council to decide its own spending priorities.

National Health Service

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the number of doctors in the NHS has increased since (a) 1997 and (b) 1999 and, if so, by how much.

Malcolm Chisholm: The table below shows the number of consultants in NHSScotland and the difference between 2002, the latest available information, and the figures for 1997 and 1999.

  Table 1: Whole Time Equivalent and Headcount of Consultants in NHSScotland as at 30 September

  

  
 1997
 1999
 2002
 Difference between 
  2002 and 1997
 Difference between 
  2002 and 1999


 WTE
 2,755.6
 2,920.5
 3,180.8
 425.2
 260.3


 Headcount
 2,940
 3,123
 3,397
 457
 274

Public Bodies

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to the second supplementary to question S2O-615 by Tavish Scott on 9 October 2003, when it announced the criteria underpinning its relocation policy including that socio-economic factors are to account for some 50 per cent of the analysis in relation to a decision on a particular relocation.

Tavish Scott: Detailed information on the background to the policy and issues ministers expect to see addressed in reviews is issued each year as reviews are announced. This advice has developed over the four years since the policy was announced. Since December 2002, advice has been offered to the bodies, beginning relocation reviews, on the weightings to apply to socio-economic factors.

Sexual Offences

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to improve services for victims of rape and sexual abuse.

Ms Margaret Curran: I will provide £1.76 million for rape crisis groups over the two years 2004-05 and 2005-06. This funding will enable services to develop and ensure that victims of rape and sexual abuse receive the support they need.

Teachers

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there has been an increase in the number of teachers in publicly-funded schools in Renfrewshire since (a) 1997 and (b) 1999 and, if so, by how much.

Peter Peacock: The information which answers this question is available from a range of Scottish Executive Education Department statistical publications. For ease of reference, the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) pre-school, primary, secondary and special school teachers is given in the following table.

  FTE Teachers in Publicly Funded Schools in Renfrewshire

  

  
 1997
 1999
 2002


 Primary
 715
 740
 731


 Secondary
 837
 880
 868


 Pre-school
 27
 29
 30


 Special
 73
 77
 91


 Total
 1,652
 1,726
 1,720



  Since 1997 there has been a slight increase in the overall number of teachers employed in Renfrewshire. Over the same period the overall number of pupils has declined slightly.